


Home To Me

by blackcoffeeandteardrops



Category: The X-Files
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 00:16:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8599546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackcoffeeandteardrops/pseuds/blackcoffeeandteardrops
Summary: A peek into the life that could (and definitely should) have been.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The story I sat down to write was decidedly far angstier than this, but sometimes plot bunnies have a way of getting away from you. Anyway, the book referenced is "If You Decide To Go To The Moon" by Faith McNulty. I mean, what kid from these nerds wouldn't have at least a passing interest in space? Anyway, thanks for reading!

When Scully stepped inside of the house, the first thing she did was slip off her shoes. She carefully took one off before kicking her other foot and causing the next one to hit the wall. On any other night, she’d have chastised both William and Mulder for doing the same thing, but after two back to back surgeries followed by an exhaustive meeting with hospital personnel, only to be called for another emergency, she found herself too tired to care. She took more time with her purse and jacket however, sliding them onto hooks on the coatrack by the door. She took her hair down from the ponytail it had been in all day and raked her fingers through it, letting out a sigh as she felt some of the tension she’d been carrying get released. 

As she was making her way up the stairs, intending to take a quick shower before bed, she nearly tripped over one of William’s stuffed animals on the first step. She picked it up, rubbing the monkey’s fur affectionately, and wondered how Mulder possibly could’ve gotten him to go to sleep without it. She approached the open door to his room and stopped at the sound of Mulder’s voice, and slowly peered around the doorframe as she heard him speak. Her heart warmed at the sight of William burrowed under the covers, eyes growing heavier as Mulder perched next to him, reading a story.

“You shoot up...up...up into the clouds...As your ship rises through the clouds, your body is pressed against the seat. Don’t worry. This--”

“Mama!” William cried, and Scully knew she’d been spotted. His exaggerated effort to pry his arms out from under the blanket so he could get to her quicker made her laugh in a way she hadn’t been able to all day. 

“Hi baby,” she said, planting a kiss against his hair. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled him close, drinking in the scent of of his No More Tears Shampoo. She tucked the tag of his pajamas back in and carded a hand through his auburn curls, preemptively mourning the day his hair would straighten out. They did the best they could with him, but she knew they couldn’t keep him young forever. 

As if reading her train of thought, William pressed a chubby palm against her cheek, urging her to look at him. “Mama sad?”

Scully was surprised as she blinked back tears, amazed at how in tune with her he could be at times. “No, sweetheart. Mama is just tired after a long day. And you should be, too. Speaking of which, I found somebody on the stairs,” she said, handing him the stuffed animal.

“Monkey!” William cried, hugging the animal to his chest.

“You sure you don’t want to name it anything else, bud? Monkey’s a little unoriginal, don’t you think?” Mulder asked, closing the book and settling it in his lap.

“No,” William said, with as serious of an expression that a four year old could muster. “He’s Monkey.”

“Of course he is,” Scully replied, standing up to straighten the blanket and make him lay back down. “But now it’s time for you and Monkey to get some sleep, okay?”

William started to whine in protest, but Mulder pulled him closer and shushed him, rubbing a hand down his arm. “Remember, we talked about this, right? You wanted to try and stay awake so you could see mama before you went to bed, but now it’s time to sleep. You can’t be student of the week in your class if you’re too busy trying to take a nap tomorrow, can you?”

William rubbed at his nose with his sleeve, nodding his head against the pillow. “Finish story, daddy. Then sleep.”

Scully laughed, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “I’ll leave you two to it then, goodnight,” she said, eyeing Mulder as she finished speaking. “I’m going to take a shower. See you in a few.”

By the time Scully emerged from the bathroom, toweling off her hair as she padded into their room, Mulder was already seated on his side of the bed. “He didn’t put up a fight?”

“A little, but I finished reading the book, and he was ready to sleep,” he replied. He held back the covers, helping her climb in next to him.

“It’s the third night this week you’ve read that one to him, maybe he’s finally getting tired of it,” she mused. She pulled his face to hers, kissing his lips. As she broke the kiss, she pressed her forehead against his and sighed. “Hi.”

“It’s his favorite, Scully. Traveling to space, being an astronaut. Ever since we went to the Air and Space Museum, you know how much he loves that,” Mulder replied. He hooked a finger under her chin, drawing her in for another kiss. “Hi back.”

Scully lowered her head, resting it against his shoulder, and for the first time all day, allowed herself to be still. She felt her eyelids growing heavy but fought to keep them open when she heard him clear his throat to speak.

“Everything okay? You were gone before I took Will to school this morning, and you seem quieter than usual tonight,” he said, lips ghosting against her damp hair. 

Scully nestled in closer to his side, tracing the looped pattern on the blanket before settling her hand on his thigh. “One of the surgeries I performed today didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, and I suspect we’ll have to go in again and make some adjustments,” she said. She began rubbing her thumb against his leg as she darted her tongue out to moisten chapped lips, mulling her next words over in her head, unsure of how he’d react. “I also received a call, and I’m not quite sure how to respond.”

“Oh?” Mulder asked, unable to mask the surprise in his voice. “What happened?”

Scully straightened back up, wanting to see his face to gauge his reaction. “I received a call from someone at Quantico. One of their teaching positions just opened up, and they’ve asked me if I’d be interested in filling it.”

Mulder sat quietly, trying to decide if the light in her eyes was due to excitement at the prospect or just mere curiosity. “And are you interested?”

She shook her head slowly, and shrugged her shoulders before speaking. “I don’t know. It would be a change of schedule. There would be some nights I wouldn’t be able to make it home until late, but it also has the potential to give me days off during the week and weekends free. I was thinking that it would give me more time to spend here.”

Mulder nodded, knowing from conversations past how much she missed spending evenings at home with William. Once things had settled down and they’d been able to show their faces in public, they worked their way towards something considered normal. He’d been able to publish a book and was working on another, which had left him on baby duty until William had become old enough for school. Seeing his son excitedly run towards him on the sidewalk after school was worth whatever angst they’d had to endure to make it there, and while Scully was able to make it a lot of the time, there were also days when she wouldn’t make it home until William was fast asleep. The idea of having a job that allowed her the possibility of more free time sounded inviting. “What did you tell them?”

“I told them I needed to discuss it with my family first, mull things over. I’ve been given two days before they move on to the next potential candidate,” she replied. 

He reached over to move a strand of hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger against her skin for a few moments before pulling away. “I think it might be a good move for you, Scully. It would give you more time to spend with Will, but it would also mean putting up with seeing me more often. Are you ready for that?”

“I’ve been putting up with you for years now, Mulder, do you really think I’ll stop now?” Scully chimed. 

“What are you thinking?” he asked, noting that while she still appeared happy her eyes had focused briefly somewhere in the middle distance, and he waited for her to focus back on him before continuing to speak. “Scully?”

She nodded slowly, hating that she’d caused him to question it when they’d been so lighthearted moments before. “I was just thinking about how different things could’ve gone, how there was once a day we might not have been able to have this conversation. Of days where that boy across the hall might not--”

“Will’s here, and we’re here, and for tonight, that is all that matters,” Mulder assured her. He knew just as well as she did the ghosts that haunted them. There were still nights he woke up from dreams where he’d been abducted, and once he’d gotten stuck in the walk in closet when the door jammed, making him realize he was more claustrophobic than he’d realized. He guessed being buried and coming back might do that to a person. But setting all of that aside, he knew as he sat next to her that they were better than they’d ever been. They’d both mentioned on occasion how much they missed working cases, and while Skinner had made it all too clear they’d be welcomed back, they’d both agreed to set that part of their life aside, at least until William was older. For now, he was content knowing his son was asleep across the hall and his wife would soon be the same way beside him. “Okay?”

She nodded, grateful that for now, he could help her keep any fears at bay. She kissed him again before settling back down under the covers. “Okay.”

His hand settled against her hip, and he pushed her pajama top up a fraction of an inch, rubbing at the exposed patch of skin with his thumb. “I suppose we should get some sleep. There’s a boy with an already astounding memory who’ll no doubt remember I promised to make him pancakes in the morning.”

Scully tilted her head back just enough to stare at him dubiously. “You promised him pancakes on a school day? Mulder, you know how long that takes.”

“Yes, but I might also add that I had a tougher time to get him to sleep tonight than I let on. And besides, I seem to recall the fact you happen to love them, too,” he replied, his amused expression almost daring her to refute the accusation.

“Okay, fine. But I want chocolate chips,” she said, not even bothering to suppress a yawn.

“Whatever you want, Scully,” he said, rolling onto his back but reaching out to grasp her hand in the dark. He pressed his lips to the delicate skin of her wrist and sighed, thinking just as she had moments before how differently everything could have gone. He pushed those thoughts away and began thinking of William asleep in his room who, despite the promise of pancakes in the morning if he was good, would no doubt end up crawling between he and Scully sometime in the middle of the night. It was a habit they were not yet willing to break, but he knew they had better get some sleep before it happened. He gave her hand one last squeeze before letting and go and pulling the blanket up over his shoulders. “Goodnight.”


End file.
